Grand Forks County, ND Environment & Hazard Risk

• Winter weatherVery High$1.57M/yr expected annual loss, about 24 events a year
• Ice stormRelatively High$1.4M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 3 years
• HailRelatively Moderate$2.27M/yr expected annual loss, about 3.9 events a year
• Strong windRelatively Moderate$1.54M/yr expected annual loss, about 2.2 events a year
• Cold waveRelatively Moderate$3.24M/yr expected annual loss, about 22 events a year
• TornadoRelatively Low$2.29M/yr expected annual loss, about 1.0 events a year
• WildfireVery Low$80.86K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1,630 years
• Heat waveVery Low$255K/yr expected annual loss, about 1.2 events a year
• LightningRelatively Low$172K/yr expected annual loss, about 27 events a year
• LandslideVery Low$538/yr expected annual loss, about once every 7 years
• DroughtVery Low$18.2K/yr expected annual loss, about 5.5 events a year
• EarthquakeVery Low$16.83K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 11,494 years

Bars show the national percentile score (0 to 100) for each hazard. Dollar figures are expected annual losses to buildings, people and crops. Not rated here: avalanche, coastal flooding, hurricane, riverine flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Check the flood zone for an address

Homes with flood insurance

301 of 18,706 (1.6%)

Homes in high-risk flood zones

314

Insured in high-risk zones

73 (23%)

Flood claims since 1978

3,114

Claims paid since 1978

$75.54M

• Hail359
• Thunderstorm Wind330
• Blizzard89
• Tornado75 · 1 death
• Extreme Cold/Wind Chill56
• Flash Flood55 · 2 deaths
• Winter Storm49
• Heavy Snow46
• High Wind43
• Funnel Cloud42

• Flood04/18/1997

  Grand Forks

  $3B damage

  What happened

  The Red River reached a new record level in Grand Forks, just over 54 feet, on April 21st/22nd, shattering the previous record by over 5 feet. Problems with the river gauge led to difficulties in obtaining stages. One flow measurement, taken close to the crest, indicated 145,000 cfs in the Red River. The city dikes failed on the 18th and 19th, forcing the 50,000 residents to evacuate their homes. Roughly 70 percent of the city of Grand Forks was flooded, with some homes completely submerged. Fire struck downtown Grand Forks on the 19th, burning 11 buildings to the ground. Firefighters could not reach the downtown area, due to the height of the river, so forest firefighters were called in with helicopters. All of the bridges across the river to East Grand Forks were under water, making Fargo the only crossing point from Fargo to Canada. As the river remained high for several weeks, the University of North Dakota and all other schools in Grand Forks cancelled the rest of the school year. The city had no drinking water for 3 weeks, as the water treatment plant was flooded.

• TornadoEF4, 5 mi path, 1,400 yd wide08/27/2007

  Northwood, Grand Forks County

  1 death, 18 injured, $52M damage

  What happened

  The tornado touched down about 2 miles west-southwest of Northwood. The tornado crossed the Goose River about a mile west-southwest of the Northwood airport and left a 200 yard wide stretch of downed trees in its wake. By the time it hit the airport, the ground track was one-third of a mile wide and growing wider. At this point the tornado was still visible outside the increasingly heavy rain. ||The tornado reached an incredible width of eight-tenths of a mile as it pushed through Northwood to the east-northeast. At this point it had multiple vortices embedded in the overall wedge shaped tornado. The strongest of these vortices appears to have scoured the ground and left broad circulation patterns of debris in the overall damage and debris field. Around this time the tornado likely became wrapped in heavy rain and would have been difficult to observe from a distance. The most extreme damage appeared to be in the northeast corner of the community.||Northwood, in southwest Grand Forks County, had a population of about 1000 people. 90 percent of the roughly 460 homes were damaged. One death occurred in a mobile home, with 18 other injuries reported. The death occurred in a trailer...

• Flood06/13/2000

  Grand Forks

  $32M damage

  What happened

  After the heavy rains and flash flooding, the Turtle River rose to historic levels. The town of Manvel, with a population of 300, had to begin sandbagging to save parts of the town. The Turtle River at Manvel, with a flood stage of 11 feet, crested near 18 feet on June 17th. Whole sections of land were under water. 270,000 acres of crops were destroyed, which amounted to one-third of the county cropland. Flooding was reduced by the Kellys Slough, a wetland designed into a National Wildlife Refuge. This natural area of sloughs absorbed some of the water heading toward Manvel. Many county roads were washed out and Grand Forks county deputies had to rescue several people stranded by the flood water. 400 feet of highway 15 west of Northwood was inundated. The Goose River in southwest Grand Forks county also caused some problems. One to five feet of water covered some county roads along the Goose River. $31 million in crop damage was reported in Grand Forks county alone.

• Thunderstorm Wind88 kt wind08/09/2001

  Grand Forks, Grand Forks County

  12 injured, $18M damage

  What happened

  The NWS Davis system measured a 101 mph wind gust. The strong wind resulted in many trees being blown down and a citywide state of emergency. Trees fell on vehicles, fences, and homes. The wind blew over traffic lights, signs, fences, and street lights. Over 50 streets in town were impassable as an estimated 3000 or more trees were flattened. 11,000 customers lost power with hundreds of power poles damaged. A 32 unit apartment building lost its roof and many homes had shingle damage. One home under construction was demolished and a semi truck was blown over. The city had to restrict water use because of the power loss. The University of North Dakota cancelled classes on the 9th.

• Flash Flood06/13/2000

  Larimore, Grand Forks County

  2 deaths, $4M damage

  What happened

  After receiving 15 to 20 inches of rain over portions of western Grand Forks county, the area around Larimore quickly experienced flooding problems. During the rainfall, two men from the area decided to drive to Larimore to get something to eat. They drove into a washed out section of gravel road 30 feet deep with rushing water at the bottom. Both died in the crash about 7 miles west of Larimore. 600 feet of railroad bed washed away near Larimore, when two 3 foot diameter culverts washed out. 10 Burlington Northern-Santa Fe trains pass through this stretch daily as well as AMTRAK trains. At the Larimore Dam, water rose behind the dam and then overflowed the top. The water then cascaded 40 to 50 feet down the rocky cliffs below the dam, making it appear that the dam had failed. In the town of Larimore, water rose above the curbs. North of town, on the south branch of the Turtle River, water flowed 7 feet deep over the highway 18 bridge.

• Hail2" hail05/15/2001

  Grand Forks, Grand Forks County

  1 injured, $10M damage

  What happened

  A male was hit in the head by a hailstone and required four stitches. Many homes and cars were damaged by the large hail, especially south of 32nd avenue south.

• Flash Flood07/30/2026

  Grand Forks, Grand Forks County

• Thunderstorm Wind52 kt wind07/30/2026

  Grand Forks, Grand Forks County

• Thunderstorm Wind61 kt wind07/30/2026

  Merrifield, Grand Forks County

• Excessive Heat07/26/2026

  Grand Forks

• Hail1" hail07/25/2026

  Manvel, Grand Forks County

• Hail1.25" hail07/25/2026

  Gilby, Grand Forks County

• Hail1" hail07/25/2026

  Gilby, Grand Forks County

• Excessive Heat07/12/2026

  Grand Forks

• Grand Forks Regional WtpServes 57,339 · Surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• East Central Regional Wd-GfServes 5,995 · Groundwater · PrivateNo health violations
• Agassiz Water Users DistrictServes 3,438 · Groundwater · PrivateNo health violations
• Larimore City ofServes 1,346 · Purchased groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations+1 monitoring or reporting
• Northwood City ofServes 945 · Purchased groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations+3 monitoring or reporting
• Emerado City ofServes 414 · Purchased groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations+12 monitoring or reporting
• Arvilla Water Users AssociationServes 180 · Purchased groundwater · PrivateNo health violations
• Forest River ColonyServes 100 · Groundwater · PrivateNo health violations+2 monitoring or reporting